Trump's early backers in state government may see rewards

GOP governors seek support on policies, funding

In Maine, where Gov. Paul R. LePage backed Donald Trump's campaign for the presidency, some political observers are wondering if the state will soon see results from that. Might Trump lend his support, for instance, to reversing a recent federal parkland designation that LePage strongly opposed?

In North Dakota, whose only member of the House of Representatives, Kevin Cramer, was an early supporter of Trump and advised him on energy policy, some suggest that Trump's administration will allow the completion of the fiercely protested Dakota Access oil pipeline, as Cramer has urged.

And in Iowa, where Gov. Terry E. Branstad pushed strongly for Trump, some believe that the new president will help the state hold on to its coveted status as the first in the nation to hold presidential caucuses.

Postelection influence

In every race for the White House, there are early and fierce endorsers of the winning candidate who are then viewed, postelection, as having greater influence. Some are courted for Cabinet spots, but more seek the president's ear on state policies, federal funds and infrastructure projects.

Rarely, though, are the lines as stark as in this election, largely because some Republican leaders took the unusual step of not endorsing Trump - early or ever.

And what this means now for the ones who did is far from clear.

"It'll be great to have a governor and a president who work well together, and I think it'll benefit Florida greatly," Brian Ballard, a Florida lobbyist, said of Gov. Rick Scott, another steadfast supporter of Trump, who posted photos on Twitter from a meeting he had with Trump on Nov. 17.

Could more federal help come when the next hurricane rolls into Florida? Might there be a way for the state to get a leg up in its long-standing water war with neighboring states?

The flip side, too, is being imagined.

Will states with Republican governors who said they did not support Trump (like Massachusetts, Nevada and New Mexico) or who chose not to endorse him (like Michigan) be penalized?

After Gov. John Kasich of Ohio said he could not support Trump, Ohio "may not be at the top of the pecking order when it comes to discretionary dollars," acknowledged Michael Gonidakis, a Republican political consultant who leads the state's Right to Life organization.

"He's going to reward those states where the leaders and establishment were out there supporting him," Gonidakis said. "But Ohio won't be last in line either. I think Donald Trump is a bigger person than that."

Plenty of requests

Not everyone believes that Trump's pre-election relations with local officials will matter all that much - or any more than they have in other administrations. John Hibbing, a political scientist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said he was skeptical about how much political leverage the federal government would exert over states and cities.

Still, many analysts said, lots of people will be making requests in the coming days, and those who backed him when others did not may have a simpler path.

"This governor has a number of times proposed welfare reforms, aimed at fighting fraud, that were viewed negatively by the federal government," Mark Brewer, a political scientist at the University of Maine, said of LePage. "I'd put my money on him going back to ask on this, if he hasn't already. Given the variety of options, you have to wonder what a LePage administration can do now that it couldn't have requested under President Obama."